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i  The  Mission  1 

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1  Contemplative  Orders  | 


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O         MONASTEKY  OF  POOR  CLARES 
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PRICE  5  CE)NTS. 


NIHIL  OBSTAT. 

James  M.  McDonough,  Censor, 

IMPRIMATUR. 

Thomas  C.  O'Reilly,  Admhiistrator, 
Cleveland,  Ohio,  August  //,  igi2 


Printed  by  the 
Society  oe  the  Divine  Word,  Techny,  Illinois 


The  Mission 


of  the 

CONTEMPLATIVE  ORDERS 


HAT  is  the  cause  of  the  dearth 
of  vocations  to  the  contemplative 
orders?  Is  it  not  largely  that  this 
life  is  not  understood  and  not  being  un- 
derstood cannot  be  appreciated  and  loved? 
How  can  a  youthful,  enthusiastic  soul  who 
feels  within  her  the  inspiration  to  give  all 
to  God,  who  is  glowing  with  ardor  to  de- 
vote all  to  His  service, — how  can  such  a  soul 
be  content  to  give  herself  to  a  life  of  ap- 
parent inactivity,  when  there  is  so  much 
work  to  be  done  for  God's  cause?  How, — 
unless  she  grasps  the  deep  truths  under- 


—    4  — 


lying  the  contemplative  orders,  unless  she 
is  able  to  see  the  highest  activity  in  repose. 

We  are  sometimes  told  that  members 
of  contemplative  orders  are  leading  use- 
less, idle,  and  selfish  lives;  but  it  is  a  mis- 
take to  suppose  that  the  highest  usefulness 
results  from  much  occupation  of  hand  or 
much  curiosity  of  mind,  without  regard  to 
the  motive  which  prompts  the  labor,  or  to 
the  object  which  engages  the  attention.  The 
highest  usefulness  is  rather  spiritual  than 
physical,  rather  intellectual  than  corporal. 
But  then,  it  is  the  outcome  of  a  mental 
activity  meditative,  sacred,  perfective,  pray- 
erful, not  of  a  mental  activity  merely  in- 
formative, or  subtle,  or  sceptical,  or  secular. 

Of  the  thirty-three  years  of  His  mortal 
life,  our  divine  Saviour  devoted  but  three 
to  the  apostolate  of  teaching.  During  thirty 
years  He  lived  a  hidden  life  of  prayer, 
penance,  and  manual  labor;  and  yet  He 
came  on  earth  to  accomplish  a  stupendous 
task, — nothing  less  than  the  conversion  of 
the  world.  And  in  the  Blessed  Sacrament 
— the  continuation  until  the  end  of  time 
of  His  life  among  us — how  hidden,  how 
silent  is  He !  He  does  not  preach  from 
the  tabernacle  in  words  of  fire.  He  does 
not  hurl  forth  anathemas  against  the  of- 


fending  sinner,  He  is  hidden,  silent,  sub- 
missive; and  yet  what  behever  doubts 
that  the  Httle  white  Host  is  the  greatest 
force  in  the  world?  There  He  offers  Him- 
self to  His  Father  to  avert  His  just  anger 
from  a  sinful  world,  there  He  makes  repa- 
ration for  our  sins,  there  He  pleads  for  us 
and  obtains  mercy  and  grace.  This  life — 
His  hidden  life  at  Nazareth  and  His  life 
in  the  Blessed  Sacrament — is  at  once  the 
model  and  the  explanation  of  the  contem- 
plative life. 

The  Blessed  Virgin  Mary  also  reveals 
to  us  the  sublimity  of  this  life  and  the 
power  it  has  with  God;  for  He,  who  was 
bounded  only  by  His  omnipotence,  chose 
for  His  blessed  and  most  beloved  Mother 
a  life  hidden,  retired,  devoted  to  prayer. 
The  Gospel  for  the  Office  on  the  feast  of 
our  blessed  Lady's  Assumption  is  the  beau- 
tiful narrative  of  our  Saviour  defending 
Mary  who  sat  at  His  feet  while  Martha 
served.  Why  should  this  Gospel  be  chosen 
for  our  blessed  Mother's  last  and  crowning 
feast,  unless  to  teach  us  that  she,  in  a  far 
higher  sense  than  that  other  Mary,  had 
''chosen  the  better  part/' 

Many  persons  consider  contemplation  an 
extremely  dangerous  and  slippery  subject, 


—    G  — 


a  sort  of  spiritual  acrobatic  feat  to  be  ac- 
complished with  safety  by  a  few  chosen 
souls  only.  Quite  the  contrary  is  the  truth ; 
if  we  were  not  a  fallen  race,  contemplation 
would  be  our  proper  element.  We  are 
created  to  the  image  and  likeness  of  God, 
and  our  perfection  consists  in  the  closeness 
of  this  resemblance.  God's  essential  act  is 
the  knowing  and  loving  Himself,  therefore 
this  same  act — the  knowing  and  loving  God 
— should  be  that  most  proper  to  us.  As 
the  catechism  teaches,  we  are  ''created  to 
know,  love  and  serve  God/'  but  this  know- 
ing and  loving  Him  is  contemplation,  ac- 
cording to  the  definition  of  Dionysius  the 
Carthusian,  contemplation  is  an  ''immediate, 
certain,  and  aflfectionate  knowledge  of  God." 
This  same  master  has  a  beautiful  passage 
on  the  "perfection,  end  and  beatitude  of 
the  human  soul.''  He  tells  us  that  he  speaks 
of  a  brave  man  as  a  lion,  of  a  deceitful  man 
as  a  fox,  and  of  a  simple,  innocent  person 
as  a  lamb,  because  the  characteristic  ac- 
tions of  these  several  persons  resemble 
those  of  the  animals  to  which  they  are 
likened.  "Since,  then,  God's  essential  action 
is  the  knowing  and  loving  Himself,  that 
man  I  may  dare  to  call  divine  whose  sole 
occupation  is  the  knowing  and  loving  God 
as  perfectly  as  possible." 


For  another  reason,  also,  is  contempla- 
tion the  ''perfection,  end  and  beatitude  of 
the  human  soul."  It  is  the  habitual  state 
of  the  blessed  who  see  God  face  to  face; 
and,  as  God  wills  all  to  be  saved,  it  is  the 
final  destiny  of  every  human  soul.  What 
wonder,  then,  that  there  are  some  who 
wish  to  begin  here  in  the  darkness  of  faith 
what  is  to  be  their  occupation  for  eternity 
before  the  unveiled  Vision. 

That  the  contemplative  orders  have 
their  place  in  society,  that  they  have  their 
part  (and  an  important  part)  in  the  busi- 
ness of  the  world,  that  they  are  of  value 
to  the  commonwealth,  is  lucidly  set  forth 
in  a  work  by  Pere  Coppin,  C.  SS.  R.,  La 
Vocation,  The  author  tells  us  that  the 
sphere  of  action  of  a  young  woman  who 
remains  in  the  world  is  necessarily  limited, 
no  matter  what  her  position;  while  if  she 
enter  religion  she  becomes  an  instrument 
in  God's  hands  by  means  of  which  valu- 
able services  are  rendered  to  the  whole 
human  family.  He  continues :  ''The  first 
service  she  renders  the  human  race  is  that 
of  expiation.  All  who  believe  in  God  know 
that  such  a  thing  as  sin  exists;  sin,  which 
oflfends  His  supreme  majesty.  They  also 
know  and  acknowledge   that  sin  requires 


expiation :  that  this  expiation  might  be  ade- 
quate— equal  to  the  offence — God  has  de- 
manded it  of  the  Incarnate  Word,  and  He 
has  paid  it  by  all  the  works  of  His  mortal 
life, — more  particularly  by  His  Passion  and 
death.  The  Redemption  is  the  great  and 
'divine  work  of  expiation. 

''This  expiation  of  Christ  is,  indeed, 
adequate, — even  superabundant;  but,  still, 
God  demands  something  further :  the  fam- 
ily, which  forms  a  moral  unity,  must  itself 
expiate  the  sins,  the  disorders  of  its  mem- 
bers; society,  especially  when  crimes  are 
multiplying  in  its  bosom,  must  submit  to 
this  law  of  expiation. 

''For  the  true  Christian  expiation  is  not 
difficult,  but  where  are  they  who  are  truly 
penitent  and  accept  all  the  trials  of  life 
in  reparation  for  their  sins?"  Yet,  God's 
mercy  finds  a  way  to  save  sinners :  He 
chooses  certain  souls  to  whom  He  commits 
the  work  of  expiation  for  the  members  of 
their  own  families  it  may  be,  for  their  city, 
their  nation,  and  even  for  the  whole  world. 
"Their  vows,  their  austerities,  their  labors, 
their  tears,  their  supplications, — all  this 
performed  in  union  with  our  Lord's  expia- 
tion satisfies  the  justice  of  God  and  obtains 
mercy  for  a  multitude  of  offenders,  saving 


—    9  — 


the  family,  saving  society  at  large  from 
mmiberless  chastisements. 

''You,  parents,  brothers,  who  would  re- 
strain a  daughter  or  a  sister  when  she 
wishes  to  consecrate  herself  to  God  in  a 
religious  order,  little  do  you  comprehend 
that  it  is  perhaps  principally  for  your  sake 
that  she  is  called.  In  the  counsels  of  divine 
mercy  she  is  to  be  the  expiator  of  your  sins. 
You  should,  then,  rather  press  her  to  go: 
your  sins  and  those  of  the  other  members 
of  your  family  have  caused  the  clouds  of 
divine  vengeance  to  gather  over  your  home ; 
but  God  has  had  pity  on  you ;  He  wishes 
that  the  purity,  the  prayers,  the  immolation 
of  your  daughter  be  as  a  lightning-rod  to 
protect  you  from  the  bolts  of  His  anger. 

"O  you  who  swallow  sin  like  water,  you 
banish  religious  from  their  country  or  sub- 
mit them  to  the  burden  of  unjust  legisla- 
tion, but,  take  care!  you  are  destroying 
your  spiritual  ramparts,  you  dismiss  an  ar- 
my of  heroes  at  a  time  that  the  God  of 
justice  is  about  to  send  against  you  His 
legions  of  avenging  angels! 

"  'Woe  to  the  world  if  there  were  no 
religious,'  said  our  Lord  to  St.  Theresa. 
'It  cannot  be  doubted,'  says  Ruflfin,  'but  that 
it  is  through  the  merits  of  religious  that 
the  world  still  exists.' 


—     10  — 


''To  the  question,  of  what  use  are  the 
austerities  practised  in  some  rehgious  or- 
ders, the  Count  de  Maistre  makes  reply : 
'One  might  as  well  ask,  of  what  use  is 
Christianity,  for  they  rest  upon  the  same 
principle:  Innocence  paying  the  penalty  of 
crime.' 

"And  you,  young  people,  who  feel  with- 
in you  an  attraction  towards  this  life  of 
prayer  and  sacrifice,  lift  up  your  hearts, 
deify  your  thoughts,  that  you  may  be  able 
to  appreciate  at  its  true  value  the  holy  vo- 
cation for  the  cloister.  If  you  are  called, 
you  must  enter  religion — to  fulfil  God's 
will,  to  glorify  Him,  to  make  sure  your 
salvation  and  to  attain  perfection;  but  you 
must  enter,  also,  for  the  sake  of  your  par- 
ents and  brothers  whom  you  leave  in  the 
world,  for  the  multitudes  which  surge,  press 
and  defile  themselves  in  those  low  earthly 
valleys,  whilst  you  pitch  your  tents  on  the 
luminous  heights  of  the  Gospel.  You  owe 
it  to  those  sinners  to  become  a  victim  of 
penance  and  expiation;  it  is  to  you  that 
those  words  are  addressed  which  our  Lord 
spoke  to  a  certain  saint:  'My  life  was  but  a 
martyrdom,  a  cross,  and  this  same  life  thou 
shalt  lead.  Thou  art  united  to  Me,  to  live 
and  die  as  I  did.   Thou  must  consent  to  be 


oppressed  by  creatures,  crucified  by  their 
sins,  but  with  the  hope  of  washing  them 
away  in  My  blood.  My  child,  I  am  con- 
strained to  expiate  sin,  to  appease  my  Fa- 
ther, through  thee  and  in  union  with  thee/ 

"The  second  means  by  which  the  nun 
renders  her  life  useful  to  society  is  prayer. 
'What  do  those  nuns,  for  what  are  they 
good?'  it  is  asked  with  contempt.  'Those 
immovable  figures  in  the  sanctuary !'  There 
is  perhaps  no  work  more  sublime  than  that 
which  these  souls  perform.  'They  do  well 
who  pray  for  those  who  do  not  pray.' — 
Victor  Hugo:  Les  Miserables, 

"This  young  woman  who  has  entered 
the  cloister  is  praying  for  those  who  do  not  I 
pray  at  all  or  who  do  not  pray  enough. 
In  God's  sight  she  represents  the  faithful  j 
whose   hearts   are   often  cold,  unpraying  ; 
hearts,  lacking  the  spirit  of  praise,  of  adora-  i 
tion;  she  stands  before  Him  as  their  repre- 
sentative,  and  the  intensity  of  her  interces- 
sion makes  up  for  their  spiritual  poverty. 

"The  heart  of  the  consecrated  virgin  is 
a  living  censer  from  which  at  every  instant 
escapes  the  incense  of  prayer;  she  prays, 
she  adores,  she  loves — for  herself,  doubt- 
less, but  also  for  her  parents,  brothers,  sis- 
ters,   for  her  friends   and  for  the  whole 


—    12  — 


world.  She  prays,  she  intercedes  and  she 
obtains  the  grace  of  conversion  for  sinners, 
the  peace  of  God  for  the  dying,  resignation 
for  the  poor,  patience  for  the  sick,  a  thou- 
sand spiritual  and  temporal  blessings  for 
her  family.  It  would  seem  as  thoiigh,  when 
Jesus  unites  Himself  to  a  member  of  a  fam- 
ily by  the  strong,  true,  mysterious  bonds  of 
religious  profession.  He  enters  into  that 
family,  and  its  interests  become  His.  We 
shall  meet  in  heaven  many  fathers  and  moth- 
ers who  owe  their  salvation  to  the  prayers, 
tears,  works  and  immolations  of  one  of 
their  children  consecrated  to  God  in  the 
religious  state. 

''Cities,  nations,  society  at  large,  receive 
many  choice  gifts  and  graces  from  the  di- 
vine mercy,  which  they  owe  to  the  prayers 
of  religious. 

''But  it  is  peculiarly  the  Church  which 
is  so  wonderously  assisted  by  the  prayers 
and  sacrifices  of  consecrated  souls.  On  the 
great  day  of  divine  revelation,  when  Truth 
will  stand  unveiled  before  us  in  all  her 
purity,  how  different  will  the  pages  of  his- 
tory then  appear!  How  many  events,  fav- 
orable for  the  Church  and  her  action,  now 
attributed  to  this  or  that  great  Christian 
statesman  or  to  a  legislative  assembly,  to  a 


—    13  — 


writer,  to  an  eminent  bishop,  or  perhaps  to 
a  pope,  will  be  found  to  have  had  their 
source  in  the  prayers  of  a  humble  nun  or 
of  several  chosen  souls  whom  God,  without 
their  knowing  it,  has  united  by  a  bond  of 
prayer  and  sacrifice  into  a  powerful  and 
glorious  alliance !  'Those  who  pray  do  more 
than  those  who  fight,'  said  a  great  states- 
man, Donoso  Cortes,  'If  we  could  pene- 
trate into  the  secrets  of  God  and  of  history 
we  should  be  struck  with  admiration  at 
the  wonderful  efficacy  of  prayer,  even  in 
temporal  affairs/  Alany  a  humble  and  frail 
young  girl,  who  has  given  herself  entirely 
to  God  in  religion,  will  appear  to  us  on  the 
last  day  as  a  Deborah,  an  Ester,  a  Judith, 
saving  the  new  Israel;  like  another  Jeanne 
d'Arc,  she  fights  against  the  enemies  of 
Christendom;  not,  indeed,  with  the  sword 
of  battle  but  with  that  of  prayer  and  sacri- 
fice; and  without  being  conscious  of  it, 
gains  glorious  victories  which  the  angels  re- 
cord on  the  pages  of  the  eternal  annals."  * 
We  have  at  hand  a  splendid  article  by  Rev.  ' 
Charles  D.  Plater,  S.  J.,  The.  Social  Value 
of  the  Contemplative  Life,  which  presents  a 
somewhat  different  aspect  of  the  same  point 
of  view ;  viz.,  that  of  the  usefulness  of  con- 
templatives  to  their  fellow-men.  The  author 


—    14  — 

tells  us  that  it  is  a  principle  beyond  cavil 
that  ''Life  should  be  social  and  not  merely 
individual.  'Service'  must  be  the  watch- 
word of  humanity:  for  in  the  due  service 
of  others  we  shall  find  our  truest  selves." 
And  he  sets  before  himself  in  this  article 
the  task  of  refuting  the  false  conclusion 
too  often  drawn  from  this  principle:  that 
the  contemplative  life  cannot  be  justified, 
because  it  is  not  of  service  to  the  communi- 
ty. He  continues:  "But  is  the  contemplative 
life  unsocial?  At  first  sight  it  might  well 
appear  to  be  so.  It  would  seem  to  be  a  life 
lost  to  society,  a  selfish  withdrawal  of 
much-needed  forces  from  the  battlefield. 
'How/  one  is  tempted  to  ask,  'can  men  and 
women  shut  themselves  up  in  convents 
when  the  world  is  so  full  of  misery  and  sin, 
of  wretchedness  and  despair?'  The  question 
may  come  as  a  difficulty  to  the  most  zealous 
and  devoted  souls;  indeed,  their  very  zeal 
may  add  strength  to  the  suggestion.  They 
are  bent  on  the  service  of  others.  In  this 
they  are  Christlike  and  apostolic.  But  their 
too  ready  acceptance  of  certain  inadequate 
views  about  human  society  leads  them  to 
suppose  that  the  contemplative  life  is  un- 
social. We  believe  them  to  be  mistaken; 
but  the  mistake  is  not  an  unnatural  one  for 


—    15  — 


a  zealous  man  to  make  in  these  busy  days. 
And  as  it  lies  at  the  bottom  not  only  of  diffi- 
culties felt  by  Catholics,  but  of  objections 
brought  by  those  outside  the  Church  it  will 
repay  a  few  moments'  consideration.  But 
before  we  investigate  the  causes  of  the  error 
let  us  glance  for  a  moment  at  its  consequen- 
ces. Were  it  to  become  generally  accepted 
amongst  us  that  the  contemplative  life  is 
an  unsocial  and  therefore  an  unjustifiable 
life,  the  first  result  would  be  the  emptying 
of  our  monasteries,  beginning  with  those  en- 
tirely devoted  to  contemplation.  These  horti 
inclusi — enclosed  gardens  of  God — oases  in 
a  dusty  world,  would  disappear.  What 
thinking  man  can  contemplate  the  prospect 
with  equanimity?  Indeed,  the  loss  would 
be  a  great  one.  In  the  first  place  there 
would  be  the  cessation  of  the  homage  of- 
fered to  God  in  these  places :  the  stream  of 
adoring  prayer  which  rises  to  Him  unceas- 
ingly. This  point  we  shall  not  dw^ell  on, 
for  we  are  thinking  rather  of  the  social 
benefits  of  such  institutions .  .  .  . "  • 

If  the  contemplative  orders  were  to 
die  out  amongst  us,  a  still  greater  calamity 
would  follow.  For  there  must  be  in  the 
lives  of  each  of  us,  if  we  are  to  live  Chris- 
tian lives  at  all,  some  element  of  contempla- 


—    16  — - 

tion,  of  prayer  and  self-restraint.  Now  it 
is  clear  that  even  a  modicum  of  this  neces- 
sary element  in  our  lives  cannot  well  persist 
unless  there  are  in  our  midst  men  and  wom- 
en who  are,  so  to  say,  specialists  in  con- 
templation, to  be  our  guides  and  our  models. 
Analogies  might  be  multiplied.  Here  the 
Platonic  idea  of  the  state  proves  illuminat- 
ing. The  state  is  the  individual  'writ  large,' 
and  any  element  of  the  single  human  life 
must  have  its  concrete  embodiment  in  a 
class  to  be  found  within  the  community. 
And  what  would  there  be  to  save  us  from 
our  own  egoism  unless  we  had  before  our 
eyes  the  spectacle  of  men  and  women 
whose  devotion  to  prayer  and  mortifica- 
tion is  complete.  One  of  the  most  rousing 
exhortations  in  a  Kempis  is  the  passage 
where  he  tells  the  fainting  Christian  to  'ob- 
serve the  Carthusians,  the  Cistercians,  and 
the  monks  and  solitaries  of  various  orders, 
how  they  do  every  night  rise  and  sing 
psalms  to  the  Lord.'  Nor  can  we  neglect 
the  lesson :  for,  as  the  Abbe  Guibert  well 
says,  'a  Christianity  without  prayers  and 
without  sacrifices  would  cease  to  be  the 
Christianity  of  the  Gospel.  Even  if  the 
exterior  cult  were  to  remain,  it  would  be 
but  a  form  of  paganism,  for  it  would  be 


—    17  — 


without  action  upon  life/  To  despise  the 
contemplative  life  is  to  cripple  the  Church 
of  God. 

''Whence,  then,  comes  this  under-valu- 
ing of  the  contemplative  life  which  is  liable 
to  seize  even  upon  zealous  Catholics?  It 
comes,  as  we  have  said,  from  an  inadequate 
analysis  of  what  is  meant  by  social  service. 
For  the  contemplative  life  is  emphatically 
not  an  unsocial  life.  Quite  apart  from  the 
higher  motives  to  which  we  have  alluded, 
our  reason  should  tell  us  that  in  nature 
herself  we  may  find  a  defence  of  the  con- 
templative orders. 

''Let  us  come  back  to  Plato's  idea  of 
the  State.  The  essential  solidarity  which 
subsists  between  the  members  of  any  com- 
munity, indeed  between  all  members  of  the 
human  race,  makes  it  clear  to  us  that  noth- 
ing .is  of  so  great  social  value  as  the  de- 
velopment of  character  in  individuals.  The 
truly  unsocial  man  is  the  man  who,  so  to 
say,  lets  his  character  evaporate  in  noisy 
activity,  in  empty  bustle,  in  self-seeking  of 
any  kind:  the  man,  for  instance,  whose 
religion  is,  to  use  Faber's  expression,  in  his 
hands  or  his  eyes  rather  than  in  his  heart. 
Such  a  one  may  have  the  appearance  of 
zeal,  but  he  has  not  the  reality.    He  may 


—     18  — 

seem  to  be  socially  useful,  but  he  is  a  mere 
drone  in  the  human  hive.  But  the  man 
who  in  silence  and  solitude  stores  up  in  his 
heart  a  great  reservoir  of  character,  or 
driving  power — call  it  what  you  will: — is 
bound  to  effect  the  world  precisely  on  ac- 
count of  this  solidarity  of  which  we  speak. 
The  waters  thus  stored  will  irrigate  the 
world,  while  the  man  of  pretences  is  but 
paddling  in  his  tiny  puddle.  The  one  is  a 
semblance,  the  other  a  reality. 

'Semblance  and  reality! — Ex  umbris  et 
imaginibus  in  veritatem/  This  was  ever 
Plato's  theme,  and  his  mind  (like  New- 
man's, in  later  times,  keenly  sensitive  to 
truth)  would  have  welcomed  the  extension 
which  the  Catholic  Church  has  given  to  his 
words  in  the  writings  of  her  saints  and  as- 
cetics. She  tells  us  the  need  of  releasing 
a  few  of  our  number  from  the  serving  of 
tables,  so  that  they  may  live  always  in  the 
sight  of  the  spiritual  realities,  which  our 
own  activity  so  often  eclipses;  that  their 
hearts  may  acquire  an  exquisite  delicacy  of 
spiritual  balance,  and  their  minds  range 
freely  amid  the  crags  of  contemplation  of 
which  the  rest  of  us  get  but  an  occasional 
glimpse.  Let  no  one  say  that  such  a  Hfe 
must  needs  be  narrowing  and  cramping.  It 


—    19  — 


produces,  of  course,  an  unworldliness  and 
child-like  simplicity  which  we  may  mistake 
for  narrowness;  but  we  are  blind  indeed 
if  we  cannot  see  what  has  become  of  the 
energies  which  have  been  drawn  off  from 
family  cares  and  business  responsibilities. 

"If  we  are  to  do  good  to  society  we 
must  provide,  not  a  crowd  of  superficial 
busy-bodies,  but  a  few  men  steeped  and  sa- 
turated in  the  eternal  truths  The  vitali- 
ty of  the  few  will  raise  the  tone  of  the 
whole  languishing  community.  It  is  the  elite 
that  tell.  And  why?  Because  they  live  an 
intense  life  which  increases  the  vitality  of 
those  around  them;  because  they  represent 
an  idea, — and  a  man  who  represents  an  idea 
is  of  the  utmost  social  importance.  After 
all,  it  is  a  question  of  the  division  of  labor; 
if  the  social  organism  is  to  be  complete  it 
must  include  a  certain  number  of  men  set 
apart  to  live  the  life  of  contemplation. 

"We  may  add  that,  just  as  the  justifica- 
tion of  contemplative  orders  on  the  familiar 
principle  of  division  of  labor  should  com- 
mend itself  to  all  students  of  social  develop- 
ment, so  the  notion  of  a  seeming  inactivity 
which  is  fraught  with  most  momentous 
practical  consequences  should  be  familiar  to 
all  who  have  had  some  experience  of  life. 


—    20  — 


They  should  not,  therefore,  find  the  notion 
a  stumbhng-block  when  they  encounter  it  in 
the  CathoHc  system." 

The  reverend  author  illustrates  his  point 
with  a  passage  from  Monsignor  Benson's 
book,  ''The  Light  Invisible/'  He  is  describ- 
ing the  thoughts  of  one  who,  on  seeing  a 
nun  praying  in  a  convent  chapel,  was 
tempted  to  regret  the  seeming  uselessness 
and  barrenness  of  the  contemplative  life. 
We  quote  the  passage. 

''After  all  it  is  essentially  selfish, — it  is 
a  sin  against  society.  Possibly  it  was  nec- 
essary when  the  wickedness  of  the  world 
was  more  fierce,  to  protest  against  it  by 
this  retirement ;  but  not  now,  not  now ! 
How  can  the  lump  be  leavened  if  the  leav- 
en be  withdrawn?  How  can  a  soul  serve 
God  by  forsaking  the  world  which  He  made 
and  loves?'' 

Then  came  a  flash  of  insight: 

"First  I  became  aware  suddenly  that 
there  ran  a  vital  connection  from  the  Ta- 
bernacle to  the  woman.  You  may  think 
of  it  as  one  of  those  bands  you  see  in  ma- 
chinery connecting  two  wheels,  so  that 
when  one  moves  the  other  moves  too.  Or 
you  may  think  of  it  as  an  electric  wire, 
joining  the  instrument  the  telegraph  opera- 


—    21  — 


tor  uses  with  the  pointer  at  the  other  end. 
At  any  rate  there  was  this  vital  band  or 
wire  of  life. 

''Now  in  the  Tabernacle  I  became  aware 
that  there  was  a  mighty  stirring  and  move- 
ment. Something  within  it  beat  like  a  vast 
heart,  and  the  vibrations  of  each  pulse 
seemed  to  quiver  through  all  the  ground. 
Or  you  may  picture  it  as  the  movement  of 
a  clear,  deep  pool,  when  the  basin  that  con- 
tains it  is  jarred — it  seemed  like  the  move- 
ment of  circular  ripples  crossing  and  re- 
crossing  in  swift  thrills. 

''I  was  aware  that  the  atmosphere  was 
charged  with  energy;  great  powers  seemed 
to  be  astir,  and  I  to  be  close  to  the  whirling 
center  of  it  all.  Or  think  of  it  like  this. 
Have  you  ever  had  to  wait  in  a  city  office? 
If  you  have  done  that  you  will  know  how 
intense  quiet  can  co-exist  with  intense  ac- 
tivity. There  are  quiet  figures  here  and 
there  around  the  room.  Or  it  may  be  there 
is  only  one  such  figure — a  great  financier — 
and  he  sitting  there  almost  motionless.  Yet 
you  know  that  every  movement  tingles,  as 
it  were,  out  from  that  still  room  all  over 
the  world.  You  can  picture  to  yourself 
how  people  leap  to  obey  or  to  resist — how 
lives  rise  and  fall,  and  fortunes  are  made 


—    22  — 


and  lost,  at  the  gentle  movements  of  this 
lonely,  quiet  man  in  his  office.  Well,  so  it 
was  here.  I  perceived  that  this  black  figure 
knelt  at  the  center  of  reality  and  force, 
and  with  the  movements  of  her  will  and 
lips  controlled  spiritual  destinies  for  eter- 
nity. There  ran  out  from  this  peaceful 
chapel  lines  of  spiritual  power  that  lost 
themselves  in  the  distance,  bewildering  in 
their  profusion  and  terrible  in  the  intensity 
of  their  hidden  fire.  Souls  leaped  up  and 
renewed  the  conflict  as  this  tense  will  strove 
for  them.  Souls  even  at  that  moment  leav- 
ing the  body  struggled  from  death  into 
spiritual  life,  and  fell  panting  and  at  the 
feet  of  the  Redeemer  on  the  other  side  of 
death.  Others,  acquiescent  and  swooning 
in  sin,  woke  and  snarled  at  the  merciful 
stab  of  this  poor  nun's  prayer. . .  .Yes,  and 
I  in  my  stupid  arrogance  had  thought  that 
my  life  was  more  active  in  God's  world 
than  that  of  this  nun,  just  as  a  shop-keeper, 
bustling  to  and  fro  behind  the  counter, 
might  think,  if  only  he  were  mad  enough, 
that  his  life  was  more  active  and  alive  than 
the  life  of  a  director  who  sit  at  his  table  in 
the  city.  Yes,  that  is  a  vulgar  simile;  but 
the  only  one  that  I  can  think  of  which  in 
the  least  expresses  what  I  knew  to  be  true. 


—    23  — 


There  lay  my  little,  foolish,  narrow  life  be- 
hind me,  made  up  of  spiritless  prayers  and 
efforts  and  feeble  dealings  with  souls;  and 
how  complacent  I  had  been  with  it  all,  how 
self -centered,  how  out  of  the  real  tide  of 
spiritual  movement!  And  meanwhile,  for 
years  probably,  this  nun  had  toiled  behind 
these  walls  in  the  silence  of  grace,  with  the 
hum  of  the  world  coming  faintly  to  her 
ears,  and  the  cries  of  peoples  and  nations, 
and  the  persons  whom  the  world  accounts 
important,  sounding  like  the  voices  of  chil- 
dren at  play  in  the  muddy  street  outside, 
and  indeed  that  is  all  that  they  are,  com- 
pared to  her — children  making  mud-pies  or 
playing  at  shop  outside  the  financier's  ofifice." 

Father  Plater  continues :  ''This  striking 
attempt  to  visualize  a  great  reality  will  ap- 
peal in  a  special  way  to  those  who  strive 
after  some  picture,  however  inadequate,  of 
what  Aristotle  calls  the  'activity  of  immo- 
bility' ....  The  thought  is  one  which  serves 
as  a  good  corrective  to  the  perplexing  whirl 
amid  which  so  many  active  men  are  con- 
demned to  live.  But  we  cannot  develop 
it  here,  for  we  are  concerned  rather  with 
a  vindication  of  the  contemplative  life 
which  will  appeal  even  to  the  utilitarian. 
"We  should  be  prepared  to  admit  that 


—    24  — 


the  contemplative  orders,  if  not  useful, 
were  better  abolished;  but  we  should  not 
accept  the  narrow  interpretation  too  often 
given  to  the  word  ^useful'.  The  fact  is 
that  the  most  severely  enclosed  orders  have 
their  influence  upon  the  life  of  the  Church. 
This  has  ever  been  recognized  by  their 
founders,  who  take  care  to  impress  upon 
their  subjects  that  a  monk  who  is  not  help- 
ing the  Church  by  his  solitude  had  better 
return  to  the  world. 

''But  how  can  a  life  seemingly  shut  off 
from  the  world  benefit  mankind  ?  Our  faith 
and  our  experience  both  tell  us  that  it  in 
fact  does  so ;  and  if  we  seek  a  reason  in 
philosophy,  we  shall  find  it  in  that  dim .... 
but  most  suggestive  region  of  study  which 
deals  with  the  interconnection  of  souls,  and 
with  the  influence  of  character  and  person- 
ality upon  bodies  of  men — with  the  essen- 
tial oneness  of  the  human  family,  and  the 
still  more  amazing  oneness  of  the  Com- 
munion of  Saints.  ..  .With  faith  and  ex- 
perience and  philosophy  to  warn  us,  it  were 
surely  the  height  of  rashness  to  disparage 
a  member  of  the  social  body,  the  functions 
of  which  may  be  shown  to  be  so  necessary 
to  the  harmonious  working  of  the  whole. 

''It  is,  then,  no  merely  speculative  ques- 


tion  that  we  have  raised,  but  one  of  im- 
mense practical  importance.  The  future 
success  of  Christianity  may  depend  largely 
upon  the  maintenance  of  the  contemplative 
orders.  The  forces  of  irreligion  are  gath- 
ered thick  and  fast,  and  we  shall  need  all 
our  strength  to  meet  them.  Can  we,  in  the 
struggle  before  us,  afford  to  throw  away 
a  most  potent  means  of  preserving  the  Cath- 
olic spirit  among  our  people  and  extending 
its  influence  to  those  who  are  wandering  in 
darkness?  Our  reason  as  well  as  our  faith 
tells  us  that  in  the  cloistered  orders  lies  an 
integral  part  of  the  Catholic  organism;  that 
on  them,  perhaps  no  less  than  on  the  ac- 
tivity of  our  preachers  and  teachers  and 
lecturers,  we  depend,  under  God,  for  suc- 
cess in  the  ceaseless  battle  which  the 
Church  is  everywhere  waging  against  infi- 
delity and  error.'' 

The  pious  and  learned  Pere  Berthie  in 
his  reflections  on  the  twenty-fourth  psalm 
has  the  following  passage:  believe  that 
in  all  ages  of  the  Church  it  is  prayer  alone 
that  has  converted  the  impious  and  heretics. 
In  so  unbelieving  a  century  as  ours,  it 
would  be  a  wise  course  on  the  part  of  pas- 
tors to  recommend  to  their  faithful  sheep 
the  conversion  of  the  impious.   If  solitaries. 


—    20  — 


virgins  separated  from  the  woild,  fervent 
ecclesiastics,  the  just  in  every  state  of  life, 
would  offer  their  good  works  for  this  in- 
tention, I  cannot  doubt  but  that  it  would 
result  in  turning  very  many  to  the  path  of 
salvation/' 

Father  Faber  writes  in  ''All  for  Jesus'' : 
''In  many  a  convent,  among  porters  and 
lay-brothers,  there  may  turn  out,  when  Je- 
sus makes  all  things  straight  at  the  last,  to 
have  been  many  a  Francis  Xavier,  many  a 
Father  Claver,  many  a  St.  Charles  for  re- 
forming the  clergy,  a  St.  Thomas  for  writ- 
ing books,  and  a  St.  Vincent  of  Paul  for 
working  the  interests  of  Jesus  in  the  towns 
and  amid  the  country  poor." 

In  the  Life  of  St.  Alphonsus  Liguori  we 
read  that  having  been  made  Bishop  of  the 
diocese  of  St.  Agatha,  he  found  his  flock  in 
a  deplorable  condition;  vice  was  rampant 
and  scandals  multiplied.  The  saint  had  tried 
every  means  in  his  power,  but  in  vain.  He 
then  determined  to  establish  his  order  of 
Redemptorist  nuns.  "If  we  succeed  in  the 
foundation  of  a  convent  of  the  Most  Holy 
Redeemer,"  he  said,  "the  edification  which 
these  holy  nuns  will  give  will  make  their 
house  the  precious  gem  not  only  of  the  city 
and  diocese  but  of  the  whole  province." — 


—    27  — 


"If  this  convent/'  he  said  on  another  occa- 
sion, ''does  not  give  another  aspect  to  our 
city,  then,  in  my  opinion,  we  may  give  up 
all  hope  of  converting  it."  Thus  did  this 
great  saint  and  active  apostle  value  lives 
separated  from  the  world  and  devoted  to 
prayer  and  penance. 

Bishop  Hedley,  in  a  meditation  on  the 
Hidden  Life  of  our  Saviour,  writes  as  fol- 
lows :  ''We  know  very  well  that  the  virtues 
of  our  Blessed  Lord's  life  are  the  virtues 
that  will  best  of  all  sanctify  our  own  souls. 
But  what  we  have  to  be  persuaded  of — 
thoroughly  and  warmly  persuaded  of — is, 
that  they  are  also  the  generating  forces  of 
His  kingdom." 

It  is  character  that  counts  and  the  per- 
fection of  our  character  consists  in  union 
with  God.  Bishop  Hedley  continues :  "The 
imitator  of  Jesus  sees  that,  except  through 
that  loving  union  with  God  which  draws 
down  grace,  nothing  can  be  effected  either 
in  one's  own  soul  or  in  the  world.  Thus  the 
apparent  success  of  one's  own  eloquence, 
persuasiveness  or  skill,  is  often  only  ap- 
parent, not  real — quite  short-lived  and  un- 
important ;  whereas  the  success  which  flows 
from  the  action  of  the  hidden  spiritual 
heart  of  a  true  servant  of  God  is  as  certain 


—    28  — 


and  solid  as  the  promises  of  God — though 
we,  perhaps,  may  never  see  it  come  to  pass. 

 And  as  for  results,  when  one  knows 

that  an  immediate  success  is  often  a  dis- 
guised failure,  and  that,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  prayer,  or  the  suffering,  or  the  prayer- 
ful activity  of  the  truly  hidden  heart  is  as 
infallibly  certain  of  result,  somewhere  in 
God's  wide  kingdom,  as  the  circles  on  the 
water  after  the  fall  of  the  stone,  one  heeds 
but  little  what  short-sighted  persons  christ- 
en failure  or  success.'' 

Pere  Coppin,  in  the  work  quoted  above, 
gives  it  as  his  opinion  that  in  those  apos- 
tolic laborers  who  were  also  contemplatives ; 
as  St.  Bernard,  St.  Alphonsus  Liguori,  it 
was  ''their  intercession,  their  penance,  their 
union  with  God,  that  was  their  greatest 
apostolic  force  in  leading  souls  to  God." 
''This  is  the  greatest  apostolic  power  in  the 
Church."  Even  under  the  Old  Law  we  find 
numerous  examples  to  prove  how  powerful 
is  the  prayer  of  the  just  man.  Moses,  inter- 
ceding for  his  people  who  had  fallen  into 
idolatry,  overcame  the  anger  of  God  which 
sought  to  destroy  them.  The  Lord  prom- 
ised Abraham  that  if  but  ten  just  men  were 
found  in  Sodom,  He  would  not  destroy  the 
wicked  city.    And  so  might  instances  be 


—    29  — 


multiplied.  To  return  to  our  own  times : 
it  has  been  said  of  St.  Theresa  that  she 
won  as  many  souls  for  God  as  did  St. 
Francis  Xavier.  In  the  Life  of  St.  Gertrude 
we  read  that  having  seen  by  revelation  the 
sad  state  of  a  certain  soul  in  purgatory, 
she  begged  mercy  for  that  soul.  ''O  Lord/' 
she  said,  'Svilt  Thou  not  yield  to  my  sup- 
plication, and  pardon  this  soul?"  Our  Lord 
replied  in  accents  of  great  tenderness,  ''For 
love  of  thee  I  will  have  compassion,  not 
on  this  soul  only,  but  also  on  a  thousand 
others."  There  are  numerous  examples  in 
the  lives  of  the  saints  and  of  holy  souls  of 
their  imploring,  insisting  on,  and  obtaining 
pardon  for  hardened  sinners,  release  for 
the'  souls  in  purgatory,  etc.  Our  Lord  once 
said  to  Venerable  Anne  of  St.  Bartholomew, 
Carmelite,  "My  daughter,  by  your  humility 
and  your  prayer  you  have  been  one  of  the 
pillars  of  My  Church." 

In  itself  the  contemplative  life  is  more 
perfect  than  the  active  life ;  it  is  the  part  of 
Mary, — the  ''better  part,"  as  our  Lord  Him- 
self said ;  but  it  is  also,  speaking  generally, 
the  life  in  which  the  soul  most  easily  and 
most  speedily  reaches  perfection  and  reaches 
a  higher  degree  of  perfection — union  with 
God.    The  hidden,  interior  life  consists  in 


—    30  — 

''that  which  is  the  only  end,  the  only  act, 
the  only  state,  for  which  the  soul  was  crea- 
ted; that  is  to  say  the  loving  worship  of  its 
God.  This  is  essential  perfection — the  more 
or  less  continuous  and  intense  exercise  of 
the  act  of  charity.  This  it  is  which  sancti- 
i  fies,  and  which  also  leads  to  success.'' — 
I  Bishop  Hedley.  This  is  the  most  powerful 
I  force  in  the  world's  conversion.  Our  Lord 
says :  " ....  he  that  abideth  in  me,  and  I  in 
him,  the  same  beareth  much  fruit :  for  with- 
out me  you  can  do  nothing.  If  you  abide  in 
me,  and  my  words  abide  in  you,  you  shall 
ask  whatever  you  will,  and  it  shall  be  done 
junto  you."  (  St.  John,  Chap.  XV. ) 

The  strict  enclosure  which  is  the  rule  in 
contemplative  orders  shields  the  religious 
from  the  dangers  and  allurements  of  the 
world;  while  the  life  of  prayer  and  recol- 
lection brings  the  soul  into  constant  inter- 
course with  God.  As  a  recent  spiritual 
writer  has  well  said :  "Among  all  the  means 
placed  at  our  disposal  to  facilitate  the  flight 
of  the  soul  towards  God  and  to  accomplish 
more  perfectly  her  union  with  the  Sover- 
eign Good,  none  is  better  or  more  excellent 
than  prayer.  It  is  in  this  sense  that  our 
Lord  gives  the  preference  to  the  contempla- 
tive life,  from  which  spring  those  acts 


—    31  — 


which  bring  the  soul  into  immediate  inter- 
course with  her  God  and  of  which  Mary 
is  considered  the  model  and  type." 

But  above  all,  it  is  conformity  of  our 
will  with  the  will  of  God  in  which  union 
with  God  essentially  consists ;  and  it  is  par- 
ticularly by  a  life  of  seclusion  and  recol- 
lection that  the  soul  learns  to  conform  her 
will  entirely  to  the  divine  Will,  learns  to 
listen  to,  and  to  follow  all  the  interior  in- 
spirations of  the  Holy  Ghost.  And  will 
our  Lord  be  outdone  in  generosity?  When 
He  finds  a  soul  entirely  given  up  to  Him — 
a  soul  that  seeks  only  to  please  Him  and 
makes  all  His  interests  her  own — is  it  pos- 
sible that  He  will  not  in  return  show  Him- 
self favorable  to  all  her  prayers  or  even 
her  mere  desires?  It  is  told  of  one  of  the 
saints,  that  many  persons  came  to  beg  her 
prayers,  for  it  was  well  known  that  they 
were  always  granted.  But  she,  being  al- 
ways immersed  in  contemplation,  forgot  all 
about  her  clients,  and  was  very  much  as- 
tonished when  they  came  back  to  thank  her 
for  the  favors  they  had  received  through 
her  prayers.  She  spoke  of  this  to  her  heav- 
enly Bridegroom  and  received  the  answer: 
''Daughter,  your  will  is  always  and  only 
to  do  My  will,  and  I  will  never  let  you 


—    82  — 


vanquish  Me  in  love;  and,  therefore,  My 
will  is  to  do  your  will,  even  when  you  have 
forgotten  that  you  ever  willed  it."  Is  not 
this  power  over  the  Sacred  Heart,  this 
power  which  may  be  used  for  the  good  of 
others,  one  of  the  strongest  motives  for 
inducing  a  soul  to  seek  to  sanctify  herself, 
— to  give  herself  up  without  reserve  to  the 
Divine  Will? 

One  sometimes  meets  the  objection,  that, 
while  it  is  true  that  the  contemplative  life 
is  more  perfect  than  the  active,  the  com- 
bination of  both  is  the  most  perfect. 
Granted, — but  where  will  we  find  the  soul 
able  to  combine  them  ?  In  the  Mystical  City, 
Mary  of  Agreda,  raised  as  she  was  to  rare 
heights  of  ecstatic  contemplation,  writes: 
"In  the  union  of  these  two  modes  of  life 
(the  active  and  contemplative)  is  the  apex 
of  Christian  perfection.  But  it  is  very  dif- 
ficult for  one  and  the  same  person  to  unite 
them  simultaneously  and  in  a  perfect  degree. 
Many  saints  have  indeed  made  great  efforts 
to  reach  this  end;  the  teaching  of  masters 
in  the  spiritual  life  has  the  same  aim,  as 
have  also  the  exhortations  of  learned,  apos- 
tolic men  and  the  example  of  the  Apostles 
and  of  the  founders  of  religious  orders. 
They  have  all  tried,  as  far  as  God's  grace 


—    33  — 


enabled  them  to  do  so,  to  unite  the  contem- 
plative with  the  active  life;  but  they  have 
ever  acknowledged  that,  as  our  Lord  said 
to  Martha,  the  active  life  with  its  manifold 
occupations  of  body  and  mind,  disturbs  and 
disquiets  the  heart.  The  Blessed  Virgin 
Mary  alone  united  these  lives  in  the  highest 
degree  of  perfection.  With  her  the  most 
exalted  contemplation  was  not  in  the  least 
disturbed  by  exterior  works.  In  her  was 
found  Martha's  care,  but  without  her  dis- 
quietude; and  also  the  repose  of  Mary,  but 

I without  her  inactivity." 
But  there  is  another  aspect  of  the  sub- 
ject which  should  be  dwelt  upon:  it  is,  if 
we  may  so  speak,  God's  side  of  the  question. 
Even  among  good  people,  how  small  a  part 
of  their  service  of  God  is  devoted  to  thanks- 
giving, praise,  adoration!  They  pray  for 
themselves  and  they  pray  for  others,  they 
petition  for  blessings  of  soul  and  body,  they 
beg  for  the  things  of  time  and  for  those  of 
eternity,  but  how  fervent  are  their  thanks- 
givings and  how  much  time  do  they  occupy  ? 
God  is  our  Creator  and  our  Father,  to  whom 
are  due  our  constant  and  most  fervent  praise 
and  adoration,  but  how  many  think  of  that 
at  all?  Creation  exists  to  give  glory  to  its 
Creator,  but  how  does  it  fulfil  this  duty? 


—    34  — 


From  numberless  haunts  of  vice  the  foul 
stench  of  corruption  daily,  hourly,  rises; 
and  should  there  be  no  houses  set  apart  from 
which  the  pure  incense  of  praise  is  constant- 
ly going  up  to  the  throne  of  the  Most  High  ? 
no  lives  dedicated  solely  to  the  worship  of 
their  Creator?  On  how  many  altars  is  Jesus 
in  the  Blessed  Sacrament  neglected  and  for- 
gotten ;  in  how  many  country  chapels  and 
small  churches  are  the  doors  locked  after 
Mass,  and  that  loving  Heart  is  left  to  spend 
the  long  hours  of  the  day  and  night  alone ! 
And  even  in  the  crowded  city,  of  the  throngs 
that  surge  past  His  door,  how  many  turn 
aside  to  exchange  a  few  words  with  this  most 
faithful  Friend?  But  worse  than  this  neg- 
lect are  the  blasphemies,  sacrileges,  and  out- 
rages committed  against  Him  in  this  His 
Sacrament  of  Love.  For  all  this  souls  con- 
secrated to  a  life  of  prayer  must  console 
Him  by  their  devotedness.  In  many  com- 
munities of  contemplatives  is  perpetual  ad- 
oration of  the  Blessed  Sacrament  kept  up, 
their  members  ever  hovering  about  the  tab- 
ernacle offering  their  hearts  in  reparation 
for  the  coldness  and  indifference  too  often 
received.  If  the  contemplative  orders  had 
no  other  purpose  than  that  of  praise  and  ad- 
oration, if  their  members  spent  their  whole 


—    35  — 


time  in  giving  to  the  Creator  the  worship 
and  thanksgiving  of  which  the  world  at  large 
robs  Him,  their  existence  would  be  justified. 
In  a  sermon  delivered  in  defense  of  contem- 
plative orders,  Cardinal  Mermillod  said: 
''Every  human  need  has  a  consoling  angel 
to  minister  to  it.  For  sickness  there  is  the 
Sister  of  Charity;  for  old  age,  the  Little 
Sister  of  the  Poor ;  for  helpless  infancy  and 
for  ignorance  there  are  the  members  of  the 
many  active  communities  which  we  see  mul- 
tiplying every  day.  And  would  you  not 
allow  your  Jesus  to  keep  near  Him  a  few 
poor  little  Sisters  to  compassionate  the  sor 
rows  of  His  Heart  wounded  by  our  sins?" 
On  another  occasion  the  same  Cardinal  said : 
''May  the  Bishops  protect  the  Marys  of  the 
cloister  :  those  under  the  mantle  of  St.  The- 
resa or  St.  Clare  as  also  those  adorers  of 
every  name  who  night  and  day  tarry  at 
the  feet  of  Christ  pouring  out  their  fra- 
grant ointments,  their  tears,  the  affections 
of  their  hearts;  giving  Him  with  never- 
failing  tenderness  the  love  of  a  virgin  and 
spouse.  O  harmony  between  heaven  and 
earth,  union  of  souls,  communion  of  saints ! 
. . .  .Who  will  tell  the  history  of  the  pray- 
ers, the  holocausts  of  penance,  the  never- 
ceasing  canticles,   which  now,    more  than 


—  so- 


ever, are  necessary  to  disarm  divine  Justice 
and  to  raise  humanity  from  the  decadence 
into  which  it  is  falHng." 

Moreover:  ''This  is  the  v^ill  of  God; 
your  sanctification."  All  created  things 
strive  consciously  or  unconsciously  toward 
the  perfection  of  their  being.  We  see  this 
in  the  material  world  about  us,  in  nature ; 
in  the  world  of  intellect;  and  is  the  spirit 
alone  to  be  neglected?  Reverend  H.  E. 
O'Keeffe,  C.  S.  P.,  in  an  article  on  the  con- 
templative life  recently  published  in  the 
Missionary,  says:  ''But  the  spiritual  per- 
fection of  the  individual  is  of  much  more 
import  than  the  perpetuity  of  the  whole 
race.  The  perfection  of  one  finely  heroic 
spirit  is  of  infinitely  more  worth  than  the 
propagation  of  innumerable  ordinary  types 
of  the  race."  "....how  superficial  is  the 
view  which  considers  that  the  life  of  the 
spirit  is  a  narrow,  selfish  and  barren  life." 

In  regard  to  the  rewards  of  a  spiritual, 
interior  life,  even  here  below,  the  saints  tell 
us  that  they  are  beyond  all  power  of 
description,  beyond  anything  the  carnal 
man  can  imagine  or  dream  of.  St.  John 
of  the  Cross  tells  us,  that,  when  the  soul 
has  caught  but  a  glimpse  (in  contemplation) 
of  the  beauty  and  sublimity  of  God,  she 


—    37  — 


would  not  only  gladly  die  to  be  able  to 
enjoy  Him  eternally,  she  would  even  joy- 
fully undergo  a  thousand  times  the  bitter- 
est form  of  death  to  catch  but  another  mo- 
mentary glimpse  of  Him.  (Spiritual  Can- 
ticle, strophe  XL)  St.  Theresa  writes  to 
the  same  effect.  These  are  the  experiences 
of  saints,  but  even  in  a  much  lower  stage 
of  the  spiritual  life  the  peace  and  happiness 
of  those  who  make  God  their  all  is  far  be- 
yond anything  the  world  can  bestow. 

It  is  a  common  mistake  to  suppose  that 
members  of  contemplative  orders  have 
nothing  to  do  but  to  remain  on  their  knees 
all  day  in  prayer.  Although  the  greater 
part  of  the  time  is  ordinarily  devoted  to 
mental  prayer  and  the  chanting  of  the  Di- 
vine Office,  nevertheless,  in  imitation  of 
our  Saviour's  hidden  life  at  Nazareth,  many 
hours  are  spent  in  work;  often,  particularly 
in  orders  like  the  Poor  Clares  and  Trap- 
pists  who  have  no  lay-sisters,  in  the  most 
laborious  and  menial  house  and  garden 
work.  And  it  is  frequently  found  to  be 
just  those  who  were  of  the  highest  rank 
in  the  world  who  are  most  eager  to  under- 
take the  lowliest  and  most  fatiguing  tasks. 
We  read  of  St.  Mary  Magdalen  de  Pazzi  * 
that  she  performed  as  much  work  as  four 
lay-sisters.  Blessed  Magdalene  Martinengo, 
daughter  of  the  ancient  family  of  the  counts 


—    88  — 


of  Martinengo,  and  possessed  of  great 
wealth,  having  become  a  member  of  the 
Order  of  Poor  Clares,  did  the  cooking  for 
her  monastery  and  worked  at  the  most  la- 
borious tasks,  so  that  often  in  the  evening 
she  could  scarcely  reach  her  cell  so  great 
was  her  fatigue.  Mother  Mary  Theresa, 
foundress  of  the  Congregation  of  the  Ado- 
ration of  Reparation,  writes  as  follows  con- 
cerning her  Institute :  'Xabor  is  a  divine 
precept,  the  first  reparation  demanded  by 
God  of  the  sinner.  Labor  regenerates  man ; 
it  strengthens  his  faculties  without  satisfy- 
ing his  evil  tendencies ;  it  extinguishes  con- 
cupiscence without  ruining  the  body;  it 
mortifies  corrupt  instincts  without  exalting 
self-love.  A  life  of  labor,  to  accomplish  the 
precept  of  penance,  appears  to  me  to  be  far 
preferable  to  the  austerities  invented  by 
fervour.  O,  how  much  better  I  love  to  see 
my  sisters  washing  the  linen,. ..  .than  if 
they  had  lay-sisters  to  serve  them,  so  that 
they  might  occupy  themselves  in  doing  pen- 
ance ! . . . .  How  I  love  to  say  to  those  who 
ask  me,  'How  do  you  live?',  *We  live  ex- 
actly like  poor  work-women.'  This  life 
agrees  with  all  healths,  all  characters,  and 
all  educations.  Jesus  made  Himself  all  to 
all;  His  daily  life  should  be  imitated  by 
great  numbers,  and  yet  that  life  is  con- 
temned by  even  the  good ; . . . .  and  I  have 
loved  it,  as  I  consider  it  the  most  effica- 


—    39  — 


cious  means  of  bringing  men  back  to  the 
belief  that  evangehcal  simpHcity  is  not  a 
mere  fable." 

Work  is  a  penance ;  it  was  imposed  upon 
our  first  parents  after  the  fall,  and  it  is  in 
this  spirit  that  souls  vowed  to  the  interests 
of  Jesus  undertake  these  common  and  lowly 
tasks.  As  Bishop  Hedley  says:  ''It  is  one 
of  the  conditions  of  sanctification  and  of 
success.''  This  work  would  be  of  small  im- 
portance if  it  were  not  for  the  spirit  which 
animates  it.  It  is  not  the  exterior  action 
that  makes  one  great  in  God's  sight,  it  is 
the  love  with  which  it  is  performed.  St. 
Thomas  of  Villanova  says :  ''The  Lord  does 
not  look  at  the  greatness  of  the  act,  but  at 
the  intention ;  He  does  not  consider  the 
work,  but  the  love  put  into  it;  He  does  not 
regard  the  greatness  of  your  effort,  but  the 
intensity  of  your  love.  In  the  judgment 
of  Christ,  the  widow  who  cast  two  mites 
into  the  treasury  of  the  temple  gave  more 
than  all  the  rest  because  her  love  was  great- 
er. Mary  without  Martha  can  please  God, 
but  Martha  without  Mary  can  never  please 
Him.  The  contemplative  life,  even  if  ex- 
ternal good  works  be  wanting  to  it,  is  very 
pleasing  to  God ;  but  external  activity  with- 
out the  contemplative  or  interior  life  is 
never  pleasing  to  Him,  for  these  are  works 
without  spirit,  force  and  value."  The  in- 
terior soul  knows  how  to  sanctify  the  mean- 


—    40  — 


est  employment.  By  the  perfect  fulfilment 
of  her  vow  of  obedience  she  is  sure  of  do- 
ing at  each  moment  the  will  of  God;  by 
purity  of  intention  and  by  uniting  her  work 
with  the  humble  toil  of  our  divine  Saviour 
at  Nazareth  she  can  make  each  action  of 
great  value  in  the  eyes  of  God,  who  regards 
the  heart  rather  than  the  deed;  and  by  the 
practice  of  the  presence  of  God  and  by  fre- 
quent elevations  of  the  heart  toward  Him 
she  can  make  her  work  a  continuous  prayer. 

There  are  those  who  think  that  the  con- 
templative life  is  not  suited  to  our  times 
and  particularly  to  our  country.  Hear  what 
Pius  IX  said  on  that  subject:  *'The  want 
of  the  American  Church  is  religious  orders 
of  prayer.  America  is  a  young  country;  she 
has  passed  her  infancy  and  is  now  in  her 
youth,  but  before  she  arrives  at  maturity 
one  thing  is  necessary, — the  extension  of 
contemplative  orders,  without  which  she  will 
never  reach  perfection."  Father  Hecker, 
founder  of  the  Paulist  Fathers,  whose  spe- 
cial vocation  lies  in  the  region  of  zealous 
activity  for  the  conversion  of  souls,  is 
quoted  as  saying:  ''It  (the  contemplative 
life)  is  the  only  counterweight  that  can 
keep  this  head-long  activity  of  our  genera- 
tion from  ending  in  irreligion  and  its  own 
destruction.'' 

Reverend  Father  O'Keeffe,  C.  S.  P.,  in 
the  article  quoted  above,  writes:  "It  is  a 


—    41  — 


portent  of  moral  decadence  when  the  me- 
ditative spirit  reigns  not  in  the  heart  of  a 
nation."  "It  is  the  culture  of  the  spiritual 
sense  which  will  lend  beauty  and  dignity 
to  our  national  life.  It  is  the  interior  life 
which  will  give  birth  to  heroes,  saints  and 
poets  in  our  young  republic.  We  need  the 
contemplative  life  as  a  protest  to  our  in- 
tense and  thoughtless  activity.  We  need  it 
as  a  counter-irritant  to  the  vulgarity  and 
frivolity  which  is  consequent  upon  our 
marvelous  material  prosperity.  The  moral 
effectiveness  of  a  spiritual  system  is  meas- 
ured by  its  authority  to  uphold  the  highest 
religious  ideals.  When  the  vision  dies  the 
people  perish." 

The  strict  enclosure  and  particularly 
the  grille  are  to  many  a  serious  stumbling- 
block.  But  as  Gautrelet  says,  while  noth- 
ing is  harder  for  the  mother  than  the  grille, 
''nothing  so  pleases  her  who  has  heard  the 
voice  of  her  heavenly  Bridegroom  as  this 
same  grille,  which,  indeed,  separates  her 
from  what  she  loves  most  upon  earth,  but 
only  to  unite  her  to  Him  Whom  she  loves 
above  all, — Jesus  Christ.  She  has  the  hap- 
piness of  giving  all,  giving  without  reserve 
and  without  measure."  He  further  says 
in  effect,  that  the  intention  of  the  Church 
in  making  the  law  of  enclosure  was,  and  is, 
to  unite  the  soul  more  intimately  with  God, 
which  is  the  end  of  the  religious  profes- 


sion.  This  union  cannot  be  effected  until 
the  natural  inclinations  are  subdued ;  and, 
''In  order  to  subdue  nature,  recollection 
of  spirit  and  dominion  over  oneself  are  nec- 
essary/' Enclosure  is  the  means  the  Church 
has  chosen  as  being  eminently  adapted  to 
form  and  preserve  this  spirit  of  recollec- 
tion; ''....this  law  of  enclosure  which  is 
placed  before  the  soul  as  a  wall  of  defence 
against  the  outer  world  and  against  a 
worldly  life.'' — Gautrelet,  S.  J.,  Traite  de 
Vetat  religieux. 

Mary  of  Agreda,  who  was  taught  by  the 
Blessed  Virgin  herself,  received  from  her 
the  following  instruction  concerning  the 
vow  of  enclosure.  "The  vow  of  enclosure 
is  the  rampart  of  chastity  and  of  all  virtues. 
....  By  this  vow  virgins  live  in  a  safe  port 
while  other  souls,  tossed  about  by  danger- 
ous storms,  are  at  every  instant  in  danger 
of  perishing.  When  one  considers  advan- 
tages so  great,  the  enclosure  does  not  seem 
to  be  in  truth  a  narrow  place,  for  within  it 
the  religious  finds  spread  out  before  him 
the  vast  field  of  virtue,  of  the  knowledge 
of  God,  of  His  infinite  perfections,  of  the 
mysteries  and  wonders  which  He  has 
wrought  and  ever  will  work  in  favor  of 
mankind.  Over  these  extended  fields, 
through  these  wide  meadows,  the  soul  may, 
and  must,  roam  and  recreate  herself ;  and 
only  to  those  who  refuse  to  do  this  does 


—    43  — 


the  most  perfect  freedom  seem  a  narrow 
prison." 

In  regard  to  a  vocation  to  a  contempla- 
tive order,  we  quote  the  following  extracts 
from  Pere  Coppin,  C.  SS.  R.,  La  Vocation. 

''When  one  perceives  signs  of  a  vocation 
for  the  contemplative  life,  one  must  not  im- 
mediately reject  this  desire  on  the  pretext 
that  now-a-days  there  is  more  need  of 
workers,  and  that  as  the  young  person  in 
question  is  possessed  of  certain  talents  she 
should  not  bury  them  in  the  tomb  of  the 
cloister.  From  tombs  of  this  sort,  as  from 
those  of  the  martyrs,  come  forth  life,  that 
life,  that  divine  vitality  from  which  Chris- 
tians are  born.  Unable  to  cast  out  the  de- 
mon from  the  lunatic  child,  the  Apostles 
asked  our  Lord  the  reason  of  their  inability 
to  do  so.  Because  of  your  unbelief,  replies 
the  Saviour.  For,  Amen  I  say  to  you,  if 
you  have  faith  as  a  grain  of  mustard  seed, 
you  shall  say  to  this  mountain,  Remove  from 
hence  hither,  and  it  shall  remove ;  and  noth- 
ing shall  be  impossible  to  you.  But  this 
kind  is  not  cast  out  but  by  prayer  and  fast- 
ing. (Alark,  Chap.  IX.)  Human  society  is 
today  more  than  ever  haunted  (we  are 
tempted  to  say,  possessed)  by  these  evil 
spirits.  .  .  .and  they  must  be  driven  out  by 
powerful  intercession,  austere  penance  and 
by  that  lively  faith  which  moves  mountains ; 
and  in  contemplative  orders  especially  do 


—    44  — 


we  find  this  triple  and  all-powerful  mode  of 
exorcism/' 

Moreover,  in  the  choice  between  a  con- 
templative and  an  active  order,  one  must 
above  all  endeavor  to  learn  the  will  of  God 
in  one's  regard.  To  ascertain  the  divine  will 
in  this  matter  one  must  carefully  study 
one's  interior  attractions  and  one's  apti- 
tudes. 

''But  a  certain  natural  inclination  toward 
a  calm,  retired  and  peaceful  life  should  not 
be  taken  for  a  supernatural  attraction.  This 
is  more  exalted ;  it  is,  as  it  were,  a  need 
of  the  soul,  which  feels  that  she  must  belong 
entirely  to  Jesus,  must  please  Him  alone, 
must  occupy  herself  with  Him  alone,  by  liv- 
ing entirely  for  Him,  by  praying  and  im- 
molating herself  with  Him. 

''When  entering  a  contemplative  order, 
it  is  above  all  necessary  that  one  should  be 
determined  to  give  oneself  entirely  to  God, 
to  the  work  of  one's  sanctification  and  to 
the  salvation  of  souls.  'That  which  results 
in  bad  or  mediocre  priests,'  says  Lacodaire, 
'is  the  entering  the  sacerdotal  state  with  any 
other  thought  than  that  of  sacrificing  one- 
self. .  .  .all  else  can  be  repaired  or  corrected 
except  this  "original  sin."  ' 

"The  same  may  be  said  of  religious  and 
above  all  of  contemplative  religious.  Those 
become  bad  or  mediocre  who,  at  their  en- 
trance into  religion,  do  not  realize  that  the 


—    45  — 


soul  must  belong  entirely  to  God ....  that 
the  Christian  called  to  be  a  chosen  soldier 
of  Christ  must  glory  and  rejoice  in  dying 
with  Christ  for  souls. 

''True,  these  thoughts  need  not  have 
completely  mastered  the  soul,  still  less,  have 
passed  into  her  feelings, ....  but  it  is  at 
least  necessary  that  they  should  have  be- 
gun to  dawn  upon  the  spiritual  horizon  of 
the  soul  and  that  she  should  experience  the 
incipient  desire  of  corresponding  with  them. 
The  grace  of  vocation  and  all  the  spiritual 
helps  of  the  life  of  the  cloister  will  do 
the  rest." 

In  regard  to  aptitude,  a  well-balanced 
mind,  not  much  dominated  by  the  imagina- 
tion; a  cheerful,  amiable  disposition;  an  at- 
traction to  mortification,  exterior  and  in- 
terior; and  a  propensity  for  prayer,  joined 
with  fairly  good  health — these  are  in  gen- 
eral the  requisites,  although  in  individual 
cases  one  or  the  other  may  be  wanting  and 
the  vocation  be,  nevertheless,  a  true  and 
solid  one. 

Self -centered  characters,  who  view  all 
things  by  the  light  of  self-interest,  whose 
minds  seem  to  be  incapable  of  moving  out- 
side the  narrow  circle  of  their  bodily  ail- 
ments or  mental  troubles,  such  characters 
are  quite  unfit  for  the  contemplative  life; 
they  need  a  life  of  exterior  activity  which 
will  take  their  thoughts  away  from  self. 


—    4G  — 


Also  persons  much  given  to  seeking  out- 
ward consolation,  who  must  tell  everyone 
they  meet  all  that  befalls  them  and  ask  a 
word  of  comfort  or  advice,  such  souls  can 
do  incalculable  harm  in  a  contemplative  or- 
der by  destroying  the  peace  and  recollection 
of  the  whole  house. 

But  when  assured  of  one's  vocation  to 
a  contemplative  order,  one  must  be  firm, 
and  must  courageously  overcome  all  obsta- 
cles from  what  side  soever.  Ponder  well 
these  words  of  our  Lord : 

If  any  man  come  to  me,  and  hate  not 
his  father,  and  mother,  and  wife,  and  child- 
ren, and  brethern  and  sisters,  yea  and  his 
own  life  also,  he  cannot  be  my  disciple. 

And  whosoever  doth  not  carry  his  cross 
and  come  after  me,  cannot  be  my  disciple. 
(Luke  XIV.) 

I  came  not  to  send  peace,  but  the  sword. 
(Matt.  X.) 

No  man  putting  his  hand  to  the  plough, 
and  looking  back,  is  fit  for  the  kingdom  of 
God.  (Luke  IX.)  _ 

Many  communities  of  contemplatives  do 
not  accept  endownments  or  require  large 
dowries,  but  live  on  alms,  the  more  per- 
fectly to  practice  evangelical  poverty.  While 
this  is  a  great  advantage  to  many  a  young 
woman  who  would  find  it  impossible  to 
follow  the  call  of  God  if  a  large  dowry 
were  demanded  of  her,  it  is,  on  the  other 


—    47  — 


hand,  sometimes  found  to  be  a  serious  ob- 
stacle in  the  minds  of  certain  very  good 
persons  who  would  like  to  see  a  community 
of  contemplative  nuns  established  in  their 
midst,  if — it  did  not  require  anything  for 
its  support!  If  these  persons  believe  in  the 
work  of  contemplative  orders  why  are  they 
not  as  willing  to  support  them  as  they  are 
any  other  charity?  And  how  can  the  mem- 
bers of  these  orders  give  themselves  to  the 
performance  of  their  proper  duty  of  prayer 
if  they  must  employ  all  their  time  and  efforts 
in  gaining  a  livelihood?  St.  Theresa,  who 
met  with  this  difficulty  when  founding  the 
first  convent  of  her  reform,  says  in  her  Life 
that  she  was  astonished  to  see  what  mis- 
chief the  devil  was  able  to  do  against  a 
few  poor  women,  and  how  all  the  people 
could  imagine  that  twelve  women  leading 
an  austere  life  could  be  so  injurious  to  the 
city.  She  was  warned  by  St.  Peter  of  Al- 
cantara not  to  accept  an  endowment,  and 
she  states  that  she  found  afterwards  that 
those  monasteries  which  she  erected  with- 
out endowments  enjoyed  greater  protec- 
tion from  God  and  suffered  less  want  than 
did  the  others. 

It  requires  so  little  for  the  support  of 
a  few  austere  nuns,  that  no  one  need  ima- 
gine that  other  works  of  zeal  or  charity 
suffer  from  it.  On  the  contrary,  aside 
from  the  spiritual  blessings  which  flow 


—    48  — 


from  the  presence  of  such  a  monastery 
in  a  city  or  diocese,  many  good  Christians 
are  sincerely  pleased  when  extern-sisters 
from  these  communities  knock  at  their 
doors.  The  presence  of  these  Sisters  and 
the  purpose  for  which  they  make  their  ap- 
peal raise  the  thoughts  of  their  benefactors 
above  the  material  and  temporal  affairs 
that  make  up  their  daily  lives,  and  renew 
their  faith  and  confidence  in  the  power  of 
prayer;  while  they  are  glad  to  be  able  by 
their  .offerings  to  share  in  the  prayers  and 
sacrifices  of  the  community,  the  efficacy  of 
which  they  have  many  times  experienced. 
Nor  is  this  all, — to  many  a  sorrowing  heart 
has  the  sympathy  of  the  humble  extern- 
Sisters  into  whose  ears  they  pour  their 
troubles,  brought  peace  and  consolation. 
Many  a  sinner  have  they  been  able  to  re- 
claim, more  than  once  a  death-bed  to 
smooth,  as  they  make  their  rounds  asking 
for  aid  for  the  monastery  they  serve. 

The  Catholic  directory  shows  a  number 
of  contemplative  communities  in  this  coun- 
try. The  Carmelites  and  Poor  Clares  each 
have  a  number  of  houses;  there  are  also 
the  Dominicans,  Precious  Blood  Nuns  and 
others.  May  this  little  article  serve  to  in- 
crease their  number! 


